Chapter 315: Winning by Holding Down the Navy's Keyboard
Disasters often come in succession, offering no respite.
However, Terra was evidently accustomed to such things.
Within half a month, after sending off yet another Master of the Adeptus Arbites and numerous bureaucrats from various departments—casualties of the habitual turnover—Terra finally learned what was truly happening in the Veiled Region.
They did not mourn the loss of these expendable officials. Instead, Terra, which had been mired in a series of internal security crises, finally turned its gaze outward.
Because the Dawnbreakers had unilaterally cut off the Imperial Tithe from the Veiled Region.
At the beginning of January in the year 670.M41, the northeastern corner of the Cadian Defence Line began to vanish.
The Scarus Sector, located opposite the Cadian Gate on the far side of the Eye of Terror, was a vast industrial region. However, it was gradually being overrun by traitor forces pushing east through omnipresent warp rifts, and by a patchwork horde of xenos swarming from the southeast.
Although the high-ranking admirals currently stationed around the Scarus Sector capital had been ordered by Romulus not to engage rashly and to preserve their naval strength, they were unwilling—or perhaps unable—to publicly refute the Primarch's plan. But in the eyes of these glory-seeking commanders, the southern regions of the Scarus Sector were on the brink of total collapse.
It was a warzone destined for defeat.
It could no longer withstand external attacks, nor justify the resources required to hold it.
Terra thought the same, and eagerly prepared to question the Primarch.
You can fight wars all you want, but you cannot withhold the Tithe.
But something happened that defied Terra's expectations.
This vast region, occupying the northern two-thirds of the Eye of Terror's periphery, began to act as a massive sponge, absorbing the forces of Chaos into a colossal war of attrition.
The Imperial populace retreated steadily. Patrol fleets ferried Astra Militarum regiments to garrison fortresses on various worlds, conducting harassing actions to delay the invaders' advance. Because the main battlefleet of the Scarus Sector remained intact, the Chaos forces found their movements increasingly restricted as their front lines extended.
Then came maneuvers that baffled both Terra and the sector government.
Fighting withdrawal. Scorched earth. Holding key node worlds. Relying on the intact naval strength of the Scarus Sector to intercept pursuing fleets. Bit by bit, the Imperial civilian population of the region was evacuated.
The Primarch assumed governance over twenty worlds bordering the Calixis Sector, using them to absorb the losses from the other end of the sector. He utilized the withheld Tithe and supplies stored in various depot systems across the Veiled Region to feed this effort. Methodically, this concentrated population was converted into soldiers and productive labor, then fed back into the southern Scarus Sector.
During this process, resistance forces carefully allocated by the Dawnbreakers and stationed in the occupied zones faithfully carried out their duties, constantly harassing and sabotaging planetary production, making it difficult for Chaos to digest these worlds.
The massive transfer of population also deprived the Chaos forces of the most crucial sacrifices for their rituals, preventing them from dragging these worlds into the Eye of Terror.
If the Chaos offensive was unnaturally swift compared to the disjointed rabble of the past, then the Imperial defense was meticulously detailed, unlike the bloated giant of old that would stumble at a single push.
Unlike in the past, the Imperium caught this punch with ease.
Following a report by the Captain-General of the Custodes to the High Lords, Terra quietly shelved its plans for impeachment.
Constrained by shortages of manpower and military strength, and severely lacking in governance capabilities, the Chaos forces could not establish effective control over such a vast area.
What awaited them was a slow bleeding that would last until they withdrew.
"This is merely a feint."
As was now standard procedure, the operational orders for the Scarus Sector Battlefleet were delivered by a Custodian.
Custodian Navradaran unfolded the star-chart. Flanking him was a garrison force of Astartes.
Navradaran had been dispatched to the front lines of the Scarus Sector, using his authority and physical might to ensure the execution of orders, preventing interference from Imperial or sector government officials that would lead to the Imperium's left hand fighting its right.
In his long command career, Romulus had learned one thing.
Rather than throwing a company of Astartes into the meat grinder of a planetary surface war, it was far better to station that company in the Imperial Navy's command center.
As long as they could use the threat of force to keep these naval officers in check, preventing them from making catastrophic errors, and use their physiological advantages to provide tactical data support, these Astartes could save far more lives than they ever could by fighting to the death on the ground.
"The four most critical starports in the Scarus Sector remain under our control. Our five battleships, nine cruiser squadrons, and thirteen escort squadrons have suffered no serious losses. The Ophidian sub-fleet has achieved significant results, repelling an assault by the Conqueror and inflicting heavy casualties."
"Given the Conqueror's shortage of manpower, this level of damage is sufficient to ensure it cannot coordinate with the Iron Warriors' offensive."
"Therefore, we need not fear a deep enemy thrust. We must cede control of this planet and rely on our fleet superiority to cut off enemy supply lines..."
Navradaran relayed Romulus's orders.
The naval officers listened in silence.
Though theoretically equal in rank to organizations like the Custodes or Astartes, it depended entirely on what those organizations represented at the moment. Those who had attempted to challenge the authority granted by the Primarch were now conspicuously absent.
Their duty now was to obey the strategic plan formulated by the Primarch and execute it perfectly using their own tactical excellence.
The only sounds from the crowd were hushed reports corroborating the Primarch's decisions. It was a testament to the Primarch's intelligence network.
Having delivered the orders, Navradaran looked out the viewport.
Below lay an Imperial civilized world, a region that was about to be completely abandoned.
A grand welcoming ceremony was being held on the planet's surface.
A series of 'disastrous' battle reports from the sector and rumors from all levels of society had caused unrest in the Scarus Sector. At this critical juncture, announcing the arrival of a Custodian to calm the populace was, for the bureaucrats, an easy win for promotion.
It was tragic.
They had no idea of the war's intensity. They only thought of organizing a welcome ceremony to earn a promotion and a raise, perhaps to afford a small hab-unit in the upper spire of the sector capital.
Abandoning such a planet required immense resolve.
In the past, the Imperium rarely made such decisions because they could not evacuate the planet's resources before Chaos descended. They could only fight to the death.
Fortunately, with the assistance of the Primarch and his mature administrative corps, transferring the population was no longer impossible.
Both the Imperium and Chaos were fundamentally fueled by people. When the Imperium possessed a powerful capability for population transfer, the greatest gain for Chaos in conquering a planet vanished.
They could try to forcibly prepare rituals to corrupt the planet, but they would be lucky if their gains covered a fraction of the cost.
As the Custodian pondered while facing the planet, an aide whispered to the Lord Admiral of the Scarus Fleet.
"There are indeed sighting reports of Chaos fleet activity along the Markiller Route, but we have not yet suffered a major attack. The speculation that Chaos is organizing a feint appears to be correct."
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